


Assumptions

by Januarium



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Character Study, Headcanon, Introspection, M/M, Queer Themes, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27476524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Januarium/pseuds/Januarium
Summary: David never particularly thought Patrick was straight. In fact, some part of him had clocked Patrick as queer within a few seconds of meeting him. Oh, he didn’t notice it consciously at the time, not until he realised later quite how attracted to Patrick he was—and quite how much he wanted the feeling to be mutual—did he register that his gut had said ‘this guy is into men generally and you specifically’ the moment they’d shaken hands.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 56
Kudos: 211





	Assumptions

**Author's Note:**

> So I was trying to do a thing stylistically here and it wasn't beta'd, so I hope it works for people! Wanted to explore this idea, as I think there's a lot of ways things can be interpreted that I don't tend to see very often.

David never particularly thought Patrick was straight. In fact, some part of him had clocked Patrick as queer within a few seconds of meeting him. Oh, he didn’t notice it consciously at the time, not until he realised later quite how attracted to Patrick he was—and quite how much he wanted the feeling to be mutual—did he register that his gut had said ‘this guy is into men generally and you specifically’ the moment they’d shaken hands.

David firmly believed in not making assumptions about people’s sexualities, but he couldn’t help it when he noticed a vibe. He generally wouldn’t talk to other people about it, had plenty of experience denying to himself and others that he’d picked something up, but it was there.

What made it so difficult to tell with Patrick was just how intensely David wanted him. It had been a warm bubble of attraction that David could enjoy the fun of and take no further the first few times they met, but from the moment Patrick said “Oh, I’m gonna get the money” it became a force so strong that David couldn’t look it in the face.

The way Patrick flirted was so confident and certain, but maybe that was just a function of him as a person. David didn't really allow himself to consider whether of not Patrick had embraced this side of himself, assuming David's vibe was as right as he thought it was. 

He hadn’t been sure at first if Patrick was also into Alexis, though it wouldn’t have been surprising. When he’d told Alexis “He’s a business major that wears mid-range, straight-leg denim; he’s not into me” he was happy for her to think he meant ‘Clearly he’s straight’. If she thought that, she wouldn’t dig any deeper into it.

It’s not even that he’d meant ‘He’d never want to fuck me’ because there were, even that early on, flashes of heat between them that could easily burn David up. 

What he’d really meant was ‘Someone so smart and sensible and _nice_ would never want me for more than sex’.

David had realised the moment Patrick hired himself at the store that the way he wanted Patrick was never going to be satisfied with casual sex. He knew that if he let himself give in to the sexual tension between them for a couple of hook ups it would break David and probably wreck the business as well and there was no way he could handle that. 

So, he’d hidden behind the excuse of not knowing Patrick’s preferences, because it was true. He didn’t _know:_ he had a vibe, which wasn’t the same thing. A part of David suspected that if he got confirmation of Patrick’s orientation he would give in to the urge to fall into bed with him—David doubted it would be difficult to seduce Patrick if he set his mind to it—so he was better off leaving it as a hunch. 

When Stevie said “I like this for you” it was terrifying, because it meant she thought they could be something real.

David had protected himself with the thought ‘Stop being into him, he only wants to screw you! That’s flattering, but you aren’t going to do that with so much at risk’. It was too much to consider the possibility Patrick really wanted more the way David did, because if Patrick wanted that? David couldn’t turn it down. No matter how much it put the business at risk, if Patrick wanted him for something real—for _any_ sort of actual romantic relationship—it was a risk he had to take.

Asking Stevie to the dinner on his birthday was a last ditch effort to deny what his gut was saying—that Patrick wanted him, for real and not just for an easy lay—and protect himself. She was right though: as soon as he saw that amazing, thoughtful, perfect gift he couldn’t deny what this was. And if he couldn’t deny what this was, there was no way he could say no to it. 

Being the one to kiss Patrick at the end of the night had been easy. He hadn’t known exactly why Patrick didn’t manage to do it himself, but Patrick had done so much to show what he was offering while David desperately pretended he had walls up to protect himself. His walls had never been more than a well-painted set piece when it came to Patrick. Something flimsy and easily torn apart and recycled when the time came, because it wasn’t even well made enough to be worth storing.

It didn’t scare him, to know Patrick had never kissed a guy before. Once David stopped denying what was right in front of him he was sure of Patrick’s interest, regardless of his experience. Even Alexis’ sniping didn’t really pull him down from that, though he’d still not been able to stop himself asking if Patrick had regrets. Showing his vulnerability that way was worth it for how Patrick had responded, how thoroughly he’d rejected the idea that he would want to change what had happened between them.

David felt awkward and embarrassed and fucking _elated_ when they got their wires crossed and Patrick clarified that he’d need to take it slow. That meant that Patrick was in this the way David was. He knew Patrick found him hot; he knew they had the sort of chemistry that could lead to fantastic sex. That wasn’t really the part that David had ever doubted. 

What he’d wanted and not allowed himself to consider as a real definite possibility was this: greeting Patrick with a kiss on the cheek, teasing each other while closing the distance between them, admitting how different this feels from any other person David’s kissed. Letting Patrick know that both of them were jumping into something special and new. 

So no, David never really thought Patrick was straight, but he couldn’t let himself hope that his preferences would allow for a serious romantic relationship with someone as broken and used up as David. And while he had no doubt that at some point Patrick would get bored of it eventually, he was going to enjoy it as much as he could let himself while it lasted.


End file.
